Buying a used car ?

[searay]

I have a fairly new job that I like alot. I'm a sub-contractor and I answer to no one, work when I want, how much I want, and I pick and chose which home insp. and companies I chose to work with. I need a car as I'm putting way to many mi. on my truck and the gas mileage on a hemi 5.7 aint so good. Local used lots are asking 4-5 times blue book. The bigger dealers have 'buy as is, tow off the lot' cars at or below blue book. Thing is, I have no idea what I'm getting into other than access to car fax and maybe calling the last owner. There is a Subaru dealership about an hr. away and they have many high mileage Subaru's which could fit the bill if I grab the right one. Most are between 130 - 200k mi. I could also attempt a private sale I guess but so much work! Anyway, any used car buyer geniuses on site for free advice ???

 

[KyleB]

You want a reliable used car? Look at ads in nicer areas, older communities and buy a honda or toyota. We've had two Priuses. I've put about 275k on 2 of them, my gf put miles as well. We've had $200 in repairs in all the mileage. And they weren't even broken parts, just stuff I saw wearing out. We've never replaced brakes on them either. They just work. 190k on current one, still gets 40+ mpg.

You drive a huge truck though...so doubt youd drive a small car...

 

[genetic freak]

Buying a car is a crap shoot anymore, as you never know why the person who owned it before got rid of it. For example, I bought a 5 year old Ford truck and drove it another 5 years. It was good to me until it wasn't. The truck was paid off, but it got to the point the annual maintenance was more than a car payment would be, so I traded it in for a brand new Chevy truck. That truck I traded in within 25,000 miles, as it started giving me problems at around 15,000 miles and the mechanics were having a hard time diagnosing the issue. Got another brand new Chevy truck that I traded in at around 5,000 miles, as it was having major transmission issues from the start, which turned out to be common in the 8 speed transmission. Ended up getting a used Ram diesel that had really high mileage for its age, so I got it cheap, and I have put another 60k on it towing things all over the US.

You could end up buying one of the newer trucks I traded in thinking you are getting a low mileage truck that maybe someone just upgraded from to find out it is a piece of junk or you could end up getting lucky like I did with my current truck.

 

[Wallyd]

Buying a car is a crap shoot anymore, as you never know why the person who owned it before got rid of it. For example, I bought a 5 year old Ford truck and drove it another 5 years. It was good to me until it wasn't. The truck was paid off, but it got to the point the annual maintenance was more than a car payment would be, so I traded it in for a brand new Chevy truck. That truck I traded in within 25,000 miles, as it started giving me problems at around 15,000 miles and the mechanics were having a hard time diagnosing the issue. Got another brand new Chevy truck that I traded in at around 5,000 miles, as it was having major transmission issues from the start, which turned out to be common in the 8 speed transmission. Ended up getting a used Ram diesel that had really high mileage for its age, so I got it cheap, and I have put another 60k on it towing things all over the US.

You could end up buying one of the newer trucks I traded in thinking you are getting a low mileage truck that maybe someone just upgraded from to find out it is a piece of junk or you could end up getting lucky like I did with my current truck.

I’ll never buy another GM product. I bought a brand new 1999 & 2004 Chevy truck. Both lost coolant but no one could figure out what was going on because there was never a leak.

Finally they decided the head gaskets were letting the coolane escape as steam when they got hot so there was never a puddle. Both trucks had a “tick” that one dealership called the Mexican knock.

 

[Glycomann]

Tough market right now. My Passat shit the bed with 100k, very low for a VW. So i bought a Jeep Wagoneer 2016 with low miles but it still cost me 18k and interest rates are super high right now so pay as much cash as you can.

 

[Glycomann]

Buying a car is a crap shoot anymore, as you never know why the person who owned it before got rid of it. For example, I bought a 5 year old Ford truck and drove it another 5 years. It was good to me until it wasn't. The truck was paid off, but it got to the point the annual maintenance was more than a car payment would be, so I traded it in for a brand new Chevy truck. That truck I traded in within 25,000 miles, as it started giving me problems at around 15,000 miles and the mechanics were having a hard time diagnosing the issue. Got another brand new Chevy truck that I traded in at around 5,000 miles, as it was having major transmission issues from the start, which turned out to be common in the 8 speed transmission. Ended up getting a used Ram diesel that had really high mileage for its age, so I got it cheap, and I have put another 60k on it towing things all over the US.

You could end up buying one of the newer trucks I traded in thinking you are getting a low mileage truck that maybe someone just upgraded from to find out it is a piece of junk or you could end up getting lucky like I did with my current truck.

I was looking for a truck when my Passat shit the bed.